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We had a bash at this braking caper last episode. Now lets try to get
your bike carving out some wizard turns.
Lean
that beast over
Even at moderate speeds, you achieve most of your
steering by leaning the bike, not yanking on the handle bars.
Try not to anguish over why this is - it's something to do with
off-sets, parallel universes and other mysteries from the dark
side. Anyway, the amount of turn depends on how far you lean
the bike. Crank it right over for tight radius turns. Conversely,
big long sweeping turns require only minimal bike lean.
Body
lean
 As
you turn, nasty centrifugal forces conspire to flick you off
your mount into the gorse bushes on the outside of the corner.
Their strength depends on how fast you're travelling. So when
you whip around a corner scary fast, you need to lean into it
heaps (think about those crazies who race grand prix motor cycles
around impossibly tight corners at ridiculous speeds). But because
your velocity and the radius of the turn are rarely in perfect
sync., you need to lean your bike and your body at different
angles. Generally, this means leaning your bike into the turn
and keeping your body slightly more upright.
In
traction
To carve out an elegant turn you've gotta speak proper and maintain traction
on the front wheel. Do this by subtly moving your weight forward in the
turn. Try splaying your elbows - this forces you forward and lowers your
centre of gravity. You should almost be able to feel the old knobblies
biting in. Beware: overdoing this while hairing down steep hills can
result in the big full frontal endo. You also want to keep your weight
over the "contact patch", ie. where the tyres meet the dirt. So try to
put more weight on your inside hand and on the outside pedal - which
you (obviously) must have placed at the bottom of its stroke.
For optimal cornering it pays to enter the corner at the right
speed. Before the corner you can brake hard while you're still
travelling in a straight line, but often you're forced to take
evasive action once you're well and truly in the corner. Try
using the back brake to scrub off speed - the front brake will
generally force you and your bike to suddenly part company. Ouch.
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